PAYROLL BANDITS

By Harvey Tobkes

Performance in the work place does not always meet the requirements or expectations of the employer. There are countless examples, but let’s start with the sport’s world to see what’s going on out there.

Players make legal contracts (signed by both parties) based on the player’s ability. Top athletes like Alex Rodriguez make as much as $20 million per year. Few, if any contracts, have minimum performance standards, so if Alex were to bat a miserable 200, he would still get his $20 million. That’s the law!

And what if Tom Hanks was given a contract salary of $20 million for making a stinko movie with a terrible script that was an abject box-office failure. Does Tom give back the money? Noooo!

Some hourly employees fake their hours, get paid for sick days when they aren’t sick, and when they are not up to an assigned task, they can try to fool the boss into thinking they are working hard at it. All this, while they are being paid.

The executives at J.P. Morgan were given legal contracts, in exchange for their performance, good or bad. The stupid drawers of those contracts (upper-management and their high-priced lawyers) promised to pay lucrative bonuses to employees, while condoning their gambling in the securities market like Las Vegas losers. So after the bonuses were paid, I ask you, why are the execs supposed to return the money?